


plastic rings and stubby crayons

by sockypuppet



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Teachers, Elementary School Teachers, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, M/M, Pining Bokuto Koutarou, bokuto is Dense with a capital D, bokuto is super whipped and everyone knows, even the kids, get your act together bokuto, slowish burn? i think?
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-08
Packaged: 2021-03-18 01:54:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,888
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29235645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sockypuppet/pseuds/sockypuppet
Summary: "Bokuto-sama, you like Akaashi-sensei don't you?" Bella stuck a dinosaur shaped chicken nugget into her mouth, chewing loudly.Bokuto's water bottle slipped out of his hands and thumped onto the carpeted floor below them. "Huh?" He scrambled to pick up the bottle, his words faster than his thoughts. “What would make you think that, Bel?”She giggled. “You look at him in class a lot.”-------Alternatively written: Bokuto pines aggressively for Akaashi and a band of first graders stand by and watch. At least the first graders are less dense than he is.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou, minor Shimizu Kiyoko/Yachi Hitoka - Relationship
Comments: 6
Kudos: 17





	1. Have you ever thought about getting married?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> all i can say is i was sitting on the couch and this plot came to me like a vision from god. teaching aide!Bokuto and elementary school teacher!Akaashi made a lot of sense to me. i hope that the writing is all right,, this is my first attempt at a longer (multi-chapter) fic! so! i hope you enjoy !!

Bokuto and Akaashi sat under the tree next to the entrance to the gym. It was lunch, and it was nice to get away from the chaos of the lunch room and spend some time outdoors. Bokuto uncapped his plastic water bottle and took a sip. He began to fiddle with the plastic ring that wrapped around the nozzle of the bottle, pulling and wiggling it around, but his eyes were fixed elsewhere. The scattered sunlight that filtered through the leaves danced on Akaashi’s face, his gunmetal blue eyes sparkled ever so slightly. Akaashi had to close one of his eyes so that the sun wouldn’t blind him. Bokuto felt the breath in his throat catch.

He was so beautiful.

No one in his life had ever made his heart clench like Akaashi. Maybe it was the way his gaze felt like the inside of a new hoodie, fuzzy and warm and comfortable and soft. Or maybe it was because his black hair shone in the light and looked almost blue, like the color of the sky past evening but before it got too dark to see anything. Maybe it was the way he listened to Bokuto’s rambling with small nods, humored his jokes with small smiles, or how he never treated Bokuto like his energy was too much. Bokuto was tired of feeling like too much. Sometimes he wanted to scream and jump and yell and cry and he wished that everyone would understand that like Akaashi did. He felt his heart twist as he continued to stare at Akaashi, before quickly realizing that Akaashi was looking right back at him.

Bokuto felt his ears heat up and he turned his head down to the plastic water bottle that was squeezed between his palms. The coldness of the bottle was gone by now, a fat droplet of condensation dripping down his right wrist. He rolled the bottle between his hands, feeling the plastic crinkle under the pressure. He began to pull at the plastic ring again and stretched it until it slid off the top of the bottle and into his hand. Bokuto let out a small gasp.

A chuckle escaped the boy sitting next to him. “Be careful Bokuto-san, that’s sharp.”

“I know, I know. I’ll be careful.” Bokuto held the plastic ring up to his eye, inspecting it for sharp edges and putting his thumb through the opening. Suddenly, an idea came over him. Was it stupid? Most definitely. “Hey, Akaashi?”

“Mmhm?”

Bokuto swallowed hard and continued to look down. “Have you ever thought about getting married? Like in the future?”

“Mm, not really. Why?”

“I don’t know. I’m just thinking about what it would be like to propose, I guess.”

Bokuto looked up at Akaashi and they locked eyes; Akaashi seemed to soften.

“I’m sure you’re going to marry a very beautiful woman, Bokuto-san.”

Bokuto’s heart squeezed and he bit his lip, gripping the plastic ring tighter between his fingers. “I um…” He sucked in a deep breath. “Yeah, I hope so.” 

Bokuto felt like his body was sinking into the ground. _Now was not the time to tell him._

After a bit of silence from Bokuto, Akaashi tilted his head. “What do you think your ideal proposal would be like?”

Bokuto felt his face warm and he smiled. He held the ring and turned his body toward Akaashi’s, still sitting criss-crossed on the ground. “I was thinking it would be kinda simple. Y’know, maybe take a walk in the evening and then go back and eat homemade dinner. I feel like public proposals are too much usually. And then after dinner I could tell…” He turned his gaze up to meet Akaashi’s and felt his smile become a little heavy. He hoped Akaashi didn’t notice. “... her. I could tell her how much I love her and put the ring on her finger like this.” 

He lifted Akaashi’s left hand gently and slid the plastic ring onto his ring finger. The weight of Akaashi’s palm in his felt so right. It was cool to the touch, his fingers long and delicate and beautiful. Bokuto felt his hands get clammy as they held Akaashi’s, so he quickly let go of his hand and wiped them on the thighs of his shorts. His face was so hot. No way Akaashi didn’t notice this time. He really was screwed.

“You’d better make sure you propose with a real ring though, she might get upset.” Akaashi let out a breathy chuckle and twisted the small plastic ring around his finger slowly, inspecting the small bumps and smooth texture. He grabbed Bokuto’s hand and tilted his palm upward (worry not, Bokuto’s heart was indeed hammering in his chest at this very moment) and pulled the ring off, placing it is his palm. 

Akaashi’s hand was so warm. All Bokuto wanted was to grip it tight and lace their fingers together and never let go. Each second longer that Akaashi’s hand touched his it felt like electricity was shooting through his veins. He curled Bokuto’s fingers over the stupid plastic ring, letting his closed hand rest in between his palms before letting go. Akaashi’s warmth escaping. Oh yeah, Bokuto’s heart definitely could not take much more of this.

“Yeah, heh.” Bokuto gripped tighter around the ring, his fist clenching. He scratched the back of his neck and let out a short laugh. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> YUH that's the first chapter (but, consider it a prologue) done! it's a little short, so i'm sorry about that! i hope for the story to pick up a bit after this chapter, so hold tight! 
> 
> don't be shy, let me know what you think in the comments :o


	2. Sunflower bellies!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bokuto is so fucked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> really quick note about honorifics in this fic: i'm making the school system like america's just because i know the most about it. buuut i feel weird having bokuto and akaashi called mr. bokuto and mr. akaashi? you know? so i'm gonna use japanese honorifics in an american school district. please don't kill me. it shouldn't affect the fic much, tho!
> 
> anyway! this chapter is a long one (at least by my standards), so enjoy! :)

Waking up and not hearing the blaring sound of his alarm was the first thing that should have tipped him off. 

Bokuto sat up in his bed, stretching and feeling the soft cotton of his old college shirt ride up his stomach. He scratched the side of his face and felt the bits of stubble that were starting to grow back. Need to shave that- he made sure to make a mental note for later. Picking up his phone, the screen lit up to reveal a blurry selfie. It was Kuroo after he had knocked out and Bokuto had doodled all over his face with a sharpie. The time flashed on with the screen: 7:40am.

Fuck.

Bokuto was LATE.

He hauled himself out of the bed and scrambled over to his dresser, pulling out a pair of black sweatpants and a grey hoodie (any sane person would call this a horrendous pairing). As he pulled the clothing on, he hopped around. Grabbing his phone and his socks, he stuffed them into his hoodie pocket before running out the door of his room. Late or not, he had to brush his teeth. Bokuto was notorious for his toxic waste morning breath.

It was his first day at his new job and he was late. How did he even manage this? Shit. He was so screwed. 

He shuffled out of the bathroom, pulling on a sock as he stumbled down the hall to grab his wallet and his keys from the kitchen table. Sure, he could grab a slice of bread on his way out too, he guessed.

He stuffed the bread into his mouth and slipped his shoes on, tripping out into the hallway of his complex and down the stairs to the parking lot. He yanked his door open and twisted his key in the ignition, feeling the car come to life underneath him. It should be smooth sailing from here. _Should._

When he made it to the school, the late students were still trickling in. Small kids grasping the straps of their backpacks that were half the size of them. The building was quite modest; the walls were the shade of off white that always made it hard to tell if the color was intentional. Bokuto pulled his phone out of his hoodie pocket and it lit up: 8:06am.

Fuck. 

He scrambled out of his car, locking it and entering the school through the two huge glass doors at the front. Once inside, Bokuto made eye contact with a short lady who sat at the front desk. Her blonde bangs swayed as she turned her head to get a better look at him before she laughed.

“Going somewhere? You look a little dazed.”

“Um, uh,” Bokuto swallowed. “Yeah. I’m a new hire? Special needs aide.” He paused again. “Bokuto Kotarou!”

She nodded, turning to her computer to type something in before standing up and holding a plastic card up to him. She smiled at him, small, but it allowed something within Bokuto to relax. 

“You seem to be a little late, so we’re going to have to take your ID picture later. For now, this card should give you access to everything you need. The classroom for special needs students is down the hall to the left, Room 19. You can’t miss it.”

Bokuto bit his lip and nodded, smiling slightly. His hands were clammy, so he wiped them on his thighs before taking the card and stuffing it into the pocket of his sweatpants. The lady giggled.

“Don’t stress. They’re elementary school kids. They don’t bite… most of the time.” She winked at him and he huffed out a laugh. Maybe it was a little loud, but she smiled at him anyway. “If you ever need anything, I’m always here. Hitoka Yachi, but Yachi is just fine.” 

“Thanks! I’ll uh- I’ll see you around!” He gave her a final wave and made his way down the hallway to room 19. Bokuto pushed the heavy metal door open to see a small girl sitting at a round table scribbling on something with a crayon. At the sound of the door opening, the girl’s head shot up, making her curls bounce. Her mouth parted slightly, making a small “o” as she stared at the tall man with weird looking hair, still not saying a word. 

“Hey hey hey! Nice to meet you!” Bokuto made his way over to the table, spinning a chair around so that he could wrap his legs around the backrest. He sat down across from her in the small plastic chair. “I’m Bokuto! What’s your name?”

She looked at him, still not saying a word. The hand gripping the crayon, that Bokuto now saw was a yellow crayon, stopped mid-line. “Bella.”

“Nice to meet you Bella!” Bokuto smiled at her. She really was a cute kid. Her black curls lay around her face, framing it nicely. Her eyes were huge, too. A little scary if he was being honest. They seemed like they took up half her face. He looked down at the paper in front of her. “Whatcha doing? Drawing?”

“Yeah.”

Bokuto hummed and examined the drawing closer, craning his neck for a better view. “Flowers? They’re pretty!”

“Yeah. I like sunflowers! And the color yellow. And sunflowers are the color yellow so maybe that’s why I like them. Did you know sunflowers turn to the direction of the sun? That’s why they’re called that.” She looked at him, gripping the crayon even tighter. Bokuto nodded.

“That’s cool! I didn’t know that.”

“They also have seeds. And you can eat them! I don’t really like sunflower seeds, though. They have a weird feeling in my mouth and they’re too small and one time I forgot to chew one and it hurt my throat. My mom says I shouldn’t have seeds because I forget to chew sometimes. But I still want to eat sunflower seeds so that one day a sunflower can grow in my belly. I think that would be cool. One time I read a book where a boy ate a watermelon seed and a vine grew out of his throat.”

“That would be really cool! …. Maybe we should wait a little for you to try sunflower seeds again, though. I don’t want your throat to hurt.” Bokuto chuckled. She frowned a little.

“Yeah, but I still want sunflowers in my belly.”

“I’ll see what I can do about that.”

The door creaked open behind them, and Bokuto turned to find a tall, very wide shouldered man looming over them. His hair was white, and his eyebrows were… uh… not there. The man examined Bokuto for a bit before stepping forward and sticking his hand out.

“You must be the new hire. Nice to meet you. Takanobu Aone. I’m in charge of the special needs program here.”

Bokuto stood, gripping Takanobu’s callused hand and giving it a hefty shake, “Bokuto Koutarou! Nice to meet you!”

Takanobu’s mouth tightened. Was that? Supposed to be a smile? Bokuto chuckled a little.

“I see you’ve met Bella already.” 

“Yeah, she’s super cool! She knows a lot about sunflowers.”

Takanobu nodded. “You’re her assigned aide as of today. She’s supposed to attend normal classes. All you have to do is make sure she’s comfortable, and that everything goes smoothly.”

“Will do!” Bokuto looked over at Bella and smiled, gesturing to the door. “Scoot the kaboose! Let’s go Bel!” He paused. “Can I call you Bel, Bella? I think it’s a cool nickname.”

She nodded, and stuffed the sunflower drawing into her yellow backpack. Once the backpack was around her shoulders, she followed Bokuto out the door.

“It’s a little funny that you want to call me Bel.” Bella looked at Bokuto, tilting her head up at him as she walked.

“Hm, why’s that?” 

“Because Bella is already short for Isabella. So now that you’re calling me Bel it’s short for Bella. But Bella was already a nickname. So now you gave my nickname a nickname.” The way she said it was so matter-of-fact that Bokuto let out a loud laugh. 

“I like short nicknames.” He stuck both hands in the pockets of his sweatpants as they continued to walk. “My friend calls me Bo. I think that’s pretty cool.” He turned to her, “We can be Bo and Bel! Partners in crime! What do you think?”

Bella shifted her backpack straps slightly and scrunched her face in concentration before nodding. “Yes. I like that.”

Bokuto smiled wide. “Cool!” They continued to walk down the hallway for a bit before he stopped in his tracks. “Wait a minute, Bel. Do you know which classroom we’re going to?”

She nodded. “Class 7. That’s where I always go. It has a big sign on the front that says “FIRST GRADE” in big black letters. I like that the letters are the same height as my fingers.”

“Mm… Okay, sounds good.” Bokuto looked at the classrooms they were passing: 10, 9, 8, and oh, 7. Here they were. “We made it Bel!”

He reached over to the door and knocked twice before pushing the door open. Bella squeezed in through the small gap between the door and the doorframe, but Bokuto stood in the entrance, scanning the room. Small desks and small chairs and small buckets full of crayons and markers and pencils. Wow. These kids were living the _life._

“Sorry to disrupt!” He scratched the back of his head, peeking in through the door before walking into the classroom. He looked around for a teacher, but saw no one. Wait, where were the kids? 

Bokuto saw Bella shuck her backpack off and make her way over to the other side of the class, where a bookshelf was hiding a corner of the room. He heard a voice coming from the corner, and so he followed Bella.

In the corner, there was a rainbow carpet with squares in which each child sat. Bokuto stood behind them, leaning against the wall. Their attention was turned to the teacher, who was holding a picture book open in front of them, reading aloud. The teacher’s head was tilted down, his neck bent so that he could read the book while also showing the class the pictures. His hair was dark and wavy, kind of fluffy looking if Bokuto was honest. His voice was really soothing, too.

“As soon as Mrs. Mallard and her ducklings were safe on the other side of the road and on their way down Mount Vernon Street, Michael rushed back to his police booth.”

Ah, _Make Way for Ducklings._ Bokuto loved that book as a kid. He remembered wanting to be a police officer so that he could help ducklings cross the road, too. Too bad he never got to try that. Ducks are cute.

The teacher lifted his head to talk to the students and turn the page, and that was when Bokuto finally made eye contact with him. Gunmetal blue eyes met his. 

No fucking way.

Bokuto felt his eyes widen impossibly more, so much so that it felt like they could pop out of his head and roll away. The soft edges of Akaashi’s smile were all it took for Bokuto to be sucked in. Those dark blue eyes on his- they made the breath in his throat catch.

No. Fucking. Way. 

“‘Kaash?”

Bokuto’s arms fell from where they had been crossed over his chest. He pushed himself off the wall and took a step toward the kids sitting on the carpet in front of him.

“Are you the new hire, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi let out a small laugh, “It’s been so long. I almost didn’t recognize you with your hair down.”

One of the kids sitting at Akaashi’s side pulled on his sleeve and whispered (in a very loud voice), “Do you know him Akaash-sensei?” Akaashi ruffled the boy’s hair and smiled.

“Yes, he’s an old friend of mine.”

Ah, just a friend. Bokuto couldn’t place why his next breath came out so shakily.

Twenty pairs of eyes turned to him, looking him up and down. All the way from his messy black and grey hair to his old hoodie to his baggy sweatpants. Akaashi looked so put together compared to him, wearing black dress pants and a brown knit crewneck sweater that was rolled up to his elbows.

“Hey hey everyone! I’m Bella’s new aide! My name is Bokuto!” He gave them a small wave, plopping himself next to Bella by the edge of the carpet.

“Your hair looks funny Boku-sama.” A small girl with long black hair giggled 

Bokuto immediately reached up to pull at his hair, shifting it over and messing with it a little before laughing loudly, “Cool, huh?”

“Yeah! You’re so cool! I like you better than Bella’s old aide!” A little boy with the cutest (and littlest) overalls Bokuto has ever seen gave him a thumbs up.

There were nods of agreement from the kids sitting on the carpet.

The black haired girl raised her hand and turned to Akaashi. He nodded at her and she turned to Bokuto. “What happened to Bella’s last aide?”

Shit. He really didn’t know. Bokuto opened his mouth to respond, but Bella cut him off before he could say something.

“Takanobu-sama told me that he is at a different job now. I don’t really miss him though. He always smelled funny… kinda like the skunk that lives near my house. I don’t like that smell. He also always looked sleepy, and I don’t like it when people look sleepy because I want them to listen to me when I talk. Also his favorite color was orange and I don’t like orange.”

His eyes widened, and Bokuto stifled his laugh with a cough into his elbow. He turned to see a small smile grow on Akaashi’s face as he covered his mouth with his hand. Cute.

Akaashi cleared his throat, and everyone turned to face him. “We are all very happy to have you, Bokuto-san. It seems my class likes you already.”

“I’m glad!” Bokuto smiled at Akaashi, feeling heat rise into his ears a little. 

“But, we should resume our lesson. After we finish this book we’ll have a spelling test.” 

A unanimous groan echoed through the crowd, and a few kids slumped over. Akaashi let out a soft laugh before he opened the book again and began to read from where he left off. 

Bokuto sat, mesmerised by Akaashi’s voice as he read and flipped the pages of the book. Had Akaashi’s hands always been that pretty?

Out of the corner of her eye, Bella noticed Bokuto staring. She didn’t say anything about it.

After finishing the book, they actually did have a spelling test. Bella was not happy about this, as Bokuto could clearly tell. 

“Bokuto-sama. How do you spell ‘country’?” She whispered to him, enunciating each syllable very carefully. He chuckled and looked over at her paper, seeing only the “c”.

“I can’t help you with that, Bel. You know this.”

“You’re mean. Sleepy skunk-sama always helped me,”she huffed.

“Does he know you call him that?”

“No. But I think he would be too sleepy to hear me say it.”

Bokuto had to laugh into his hand so he wouldn’t disturb the class.

As the next few hours passed, Bokuto constantly felt his eyes drawn to Akaashi. It didn’t matter what he was doing. Whether he was passing out papers, reading out vocab words, or leaning over the desk of a struggling student and helping them subtract 13 from 72, Bokuto couldn’t help but stare. Had Akaashi always been this good with kids? He was itching to talk to him.

Soon enough, class ended for the day and all the kids had to pack their things. Bella in particular packed her things quickly. Bokuto walked her out to the parking lot and they sat together on one of the small benches in front of the school. They sat there for a couple minutes before Bella’s leg began to bounce up and down rapidly. She stared off into the parking lot with dilated pupils, and didn’t notice when Bokuto turned his body toward her.

“You doing okay, Bel?”

Nothing. She continued to sit there and bounce her leg, staring in a straight line.

They sat there for a few more minutes and Bella shifted her position so that now one of her feet was resting on the thigh of the other, moving back and forth. Her hands were clenching and unclenching every few seconds. She was still staring forward.

“Hey, Bel?”

Her body shot up, jerking toward Bokuto with wide eyes. “Yeah.”

“What’re you thinkin’ about?”

“I want to go home and pet my dog, but my mom still isn’t here and usually she is here right after school ends. I think I’m scared because my dog will miss me and I miss my dog and I want to go home. But my mom isn’t here. So I can’t go home.”

Bokuto hummed a response and suddenly a thought crossed his mind. He stood up and tilted his head down to talk to her. “Give me a second, I’m going to get something from my car for you. Sit tight, okay?”

She nodded, and he jogged over to his car. Unlocking it, he reached into the glove box, digging around until he found what he was looking for and shoved the object into his pocket. He closed the door of his car and jogged back to the bench, plopping himself back next to Bella with a huff.

“Here!” He pulled a black fidget spinner out of his pocket and held it out to the little girl. “My buddy got me this a while ago because I couldn’t sit still, either. It helps a lot I think. Gives you something to mess with.”

She tentatively grabbed it from his hand and spun it around, eyes glued to the foreign object. “But this is yours. It’s not good to take other people’s things.” She looked up at him. “That’s what my mom says. One time when I was 5 I took a boy’s granola bar and he cried.”

Bokuto laughed, “Don’t worry about it. I’m giving it to you! It’s a present.”

“It’s not my birthday though. Or Christmas.”

“Consider it a belated birthday present.” Bokuto winked at her and she giggled. The fidget spinner remained clutched in her small hands as a white Honda Civic pulled up to the curb. The window rolled down and Bella ran up to the door, pulling it open with a yank that almost comically flung her body backwards. She clambered up into the seat and waved at Bokuto before pulling the door closed. 

“Are you Bella’s new aide?” The woman in the driver’s seat asked through the open window. Her hair was in braids, long and thick. Bokuto nodded, making his way over.

“Yeah! Nice to meet you. Bokuto Koutarou!” He gave a very toothy smile.

She smiled too. It was small, but it felt warm. “Hope Williams. Nice to meet you. Thank you for helping Bella.”

“Of course, it’s my pleasure!” His hands were now resting on his hips in a superman-like pose. “You better make sure to get home soon though. Bella is itching to pet her dog.”

“I’m sure she is,” she laughed. “Thank you again. I’ll see you tomorrow!” She waved before rolling up the window and driving off. 

Bokuto watched them drive off and started walking in the direction of his car before stopping. He had another idea. Man, he sure was _full of ideas_ today. Stupid ideas, maybe. But he was going to give it a shot anyway. 

He turned on his heel and ran back into the building, zipping past Yachi at the desk (who looked a little frightened to see someone bolting through the hallway). Down the hall, he passed every class until he reached the familiar door of Room 7. The huge “FIRST GRADE” sign stared back at him. Taunting him, almost.

Maybe he should just leave. Akaashi was probably gone by now. Is there even a reason he would have to stay back? There wasn’t much stuff to grade in elementary school, after all. Would Akaashi be creeped out if he opened the door and Bokuto was standing there right up in his face?

_Deep breath, he told himself. Your mind’s running circles right now._

Logically, there was nothing to lose here. They haven’t talked in years. What’s the problem with knocking and catching up a little? Bokuto sucked in a gut-full of air and raised his hand to knock, giving the door two soft taps.

A muffled “come in” could be heard from the other side, so Bokuto pushed the door open and peeked his head in. 

Akaashi looked up from where he was leaning over a small bucket of crayons at one of those ridiculously short desks. His gaze immediately softened, but with someone as dense as Bokuto Koutarou, the look went unnoticed.

“Do you need something, Bokuto-san?”

“U-uh! No! I just wanted to catch up a bit. It’s been a while! Ha!” Bokuto instinctively reached up and scratched the back of his head. 

Akaashi plucked a couple markers from the crayon bucket and dropped them into a red plastic bin on the floor before looking back up. “Sure. I would like that.” He smiled. “Let me organize these crayons first, and then we can talk.”

Bokuto nodded and took a seat on one of the tiny plastic chairs. He felt it bend under his weight, but he ignored it. 

When Akaashi was done with the crayons, he squeezed some hand sanitizer onto his hands and lathered them, before making his way over to Bokuto and tilting his head over to the door. “Let’s go outside. I know a nice place we can sit.”

Bokuto stood, following Akaashi out to the playground and to the swingset, where they each plopped down onto one of the swing seats. Akaashi swayed a little, his hands in his lap. Bokuto grasped onto the chains, also rocking gently. He bit his lip, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say before Akaashi broke the short silence.

“So, Bokuto-san. How have you been these past few years?” Akaashi was looking at him, and wow. His eyes were so pretty. Bokuto felt the heat rise up to his cheeks and he had to turn to look forward instead.

“I’ve been good! Went to college and stuff, but that’s just really boring,” he chuckled. “What about you? I never thought you would want to teach little kids.”

“Yeah, me neither.” Akaashi drew a small circle in the sand below the swing with his heel. “Not sure what it is about them. They’re cute, though.”

Bokuto laughed out loud. Maybe a little too loud. “Yeah, they’re REALLY cute. Bella especially. Love her.”

Bokuto finally gathered up the courage to look back at Akaashi, only to find him still staring at him. “What made you decide to work with kids, Bokuto-san? I really thought you would go professional with volleyball.”

Ah. He should have been expecting this question.

“Well, uh! I thought I was gonna go professional, too! But then while I was in college I injured my shoulder really bad. Did one too many blocks at awkward positions with some really strong spikers and that did it for me, I guess. They recommended I didn’t play anymore, just because it would make it a lot worse.”

Akaashi gave him a small nod. He guessed that meant to continue.

“Yeah, and then after that, I really didn’t know what I was gonna do, you know? But then my sister had a kid, the sweetest little guy you’ll ever meet. I love him lots! He has Down syndrome. And he couldn’t go to school with everyone else for a while because they didn’t have any programs to help him. He’s pretty high functioning, but sometimes he struggles and needs someone to help him out, you know?”

Bokuto saw Akaashi nod again out of the corner of his eye.

“But after lots of pestering, the school district finally caved and hired some aides and specialists and he could finally go to school and make friends. Man, I think that the first time he came home from school and called me on the phone was the happiest I’d ever heard him. He was so excited. It honestly made me cry a little bit.

“That was when I thought that maybe I should try and do that. Help kids go through school that are a little different than other kids, I mean. I knew it could also make so many families of those kids grateful, because my sister and I were so grateful for my nephew’s aide. She was the sweetest, and, I honestly don’t know where we would be without her. I was thrilled when I finally saw my nephew again and he was so happy, and he told me about all his friends and all the stuff he was learning in school.”

Bokuto had been swinging gently back and forth for a while now, looking down at his feet in thought as he spoke. A smile was stuck on his face. He turned to look at Akaashi again, seeing that his expression had softened even more (is that possible?). “Ah, sorry. I rambled a bit.”

“Don’t worry about it. I like listening to you talk, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi breathed, offering him a small smile.

“I’m glad. I tend to talk a lot. I’m sure you’ve noticed.”

Akaashi laughed.

Wow. It had been so long since Bokuto had heard Akaashi laugh. Even in highschool, he rarely ever laughed. It was like music to his ears. He laughed too. This wasn’t one of his boisterous chuckles, though- it came from his gut, bubbling up his throat.

“It’s nice to talk to you again, ‘Kaash.”

Akaashi nodded, humming in response.

“Yeah, it’s really nice.”

They sat there, swinging gently and chatting about what they’d been up to the past few years for another hour. It was small talk, about their families, and college, and classes that made them want to rip their hair out. But it was nice. It was a comfortable and warm feeling for Bokuto. And maybe if he wasn’t so dense, he would have realized that Akaashi might feel the same way.

Soon, the sky began to dull. This was Bokuto’s signal that he had been talking to Akaashi for much longer than he probably should have. He kicked at a small rock in front of the swing, missing by a little and kicking up a small dust cloud instead. He turned to Akaashi, feeling that familiar heat rise up to his ears when he saw Akaashi looking down at a couple of ants scrambling on the ground.

“I should probably let you go. You probably have some teacher duties to attend to.” Bokuto laughed. “I feel like I kept you captive here.”

“Absolutely not, Bokuto-san. I told you, I like talking with you.” Akaashi looked up at him with stern eyes. “But, I do have some spelling tests to grade. You would be surprised at the multitude of ways first graders come up with to spell the word ‘monkey’.”

Bokuto snorted. “You would probably be upset to hear that Bella tried to ask me how to spell ‘country’.”

“No wonder she did so good on spelling tests before.”

“Yeah, it’s sleepy skunk-sama’s fault, as she calls him.”

Akaashi chuckled. Bokuto’s heart was going to bust out of his chest.

“I’ll let you go, though! Those spelling errors aren’t going to correct themselves!”

Bokuto stood up from the swing and watched Akaashi stand up as well, dusting his slacks.

He didn’t think much about how nice Akaashi looked, but now he was REALLY thinking about it. The way that his sweater was loose and draped around his shoulders, tucked into the front of his slacks. And the way his slacks were loose around his legs yet so _fitted_ somehow. And the way his black socks disappeared into the cuffed end of his pants. And his white sneakers? Shit, Bokuto needed to breathe.

He looked up again to meet Akaashi’s eyes and prayed to god that Akaashi didn’t notice.

(As if Akaashi wouldn’t notice someone blatantly checking him out.)

“I have to go grab my things from my classroom. Care to join?” Akaashi nodded toward the classroom. Bokuto followed, obviously. He looked (and felt) like a puppy. But he couldn’t help it. After all, have you SEEN Akaashi?

They made their way to room 7, Akaashi gathered his papers and his coat, and the two made their way to the parking lot. Bokuto walked to the curb with Akaashi before realizing that it would probably be really creepy to walk him to his car. His hand shot up to touch Akaashi’s shoulder before he jerked it away and scratched at the back of his head. Akaashi looked at him, visibly confused (and rightfully so).

“A-uhm! See you tomorrow Akaash! It was nice talking to you again!” The laugh that followed was probably the most awkward laugh Bokuto had ever let out of his mouth in his life. He immediately felt the blood rush to his face.

“See you tomorrow, Bokuto-san.” Akaashi smiled again (wow, Bokuto would never get tired of that smile) and waved his arm that his coat was hanging on gently, so that it wouldn’t slip down.

Bokuto watched Akaashi get into his car and drive out of the parking lot before he climbed into his own car. Both of his hands gripped the steering wheel and he smacked his head on the wheel, hard enough that the horn blared loud for a few seconds until he lifted his head again.

Fuck. He was so screwed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW this chapter ended up being longer than i expected but i'm pleasantly surprised by that. tune in next chapter for more pining bokuto :D
> 
> say hi in the comments! your comments make my day and i promise i don't bite.


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